ARE
WE TOLD TO CELEBRATE
CHRISTMAS?
IS IT A
RELIGIOUS FESTIVAL?
WHAT’S
THE MEANING OF “CHRIST-MAS?”
By Don Stanton
This article, no doubt, will upset many “traditional” readers. I
realise I'm entering a "sacred sanctum" here, so I'll try to tread
carefully. But I'm doing what the BIBLE says:
"Examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good. Abstain
from every form of evil."
(1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)
That is what I am seeking to do.
For years I have warned about the Christmas robber, Santa Claus,
and the satanic five-pointed stars that are used at Christmas. But there
is much more which I have discovered through a little research into the
subject! So much so that I no longer celebrate Christmas. I don't say
that you, my reader, must accept everything I say. But I do say to you,
“examine the Scriptures, and also examine the traditions, and see what
agrees and what does not agree!” Can I ask you to do that?
And I feel I should give an explanation as
to why I am
not
wishing you a “Merry
Christmas.”
Let me share with you …
26 REASONS WHY I NO LONGER CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS
1
As I examined the
Christmas tradition
I found a lot of
commercialism,
a
lot
of
paganism,
and a lot
of
Romanism.
And as I examined the
Bible
I found no command, no
precedent, and
no
authority
to celebrate Christmas.
2
The word "Christmas" is not found in the Bible. "Christmas does not mean
"Birth of Christ." The word is made up of Christ + mas. It means
"Christ's mass."
3
"Mass" is derived from a Latin word meaning
dismissal.
"The Mass" is a religious service of the Roman Catholic Church, a
performance of the sacrament of the Eucharist according to the
Columbia Encyclopedia. Protestants claim they never celebrate a
"mass." The word is not even in their dictionary - except for
Christ-MAS.
4
Candles
are “essential” to Christmas celebrations. Just look at them on your
greeting cards. People say candles represent "Jesus, the Light of the
World." Not so! How can a weak, flickering little candlelight represent
the most powerful Light in the Universe? He is not the
candle-light
of the world!
The candles used at Christmas are the candles that are essential to
a Roman Catholic Mass. And Christ-Mas is a MASS. Many will say they
don't celebrate Christmas as a mass - but candles are invariably
involved somewhere in the celebration. It is done in
ignorance
and
tradition.
But there is another fact to consider: candles are
very essential
in witchcraft and in
Black Masses
held by Satanists.
5
Christmas was not observed by the
early
Church. "Christmas (Christ's Mass) ... the observance is probably
no older than A.D.200 and did not become widespread until the
4th
century."
(Columbia Encyclopedia).
6
Knowing what it means, I cannot, in sincerity and truth, wish anyone a
Happy Christ-MAS.
I've wondered what other suitable greeting could be used? Maybe "Happy
Christ-birth", "Happy Birthday to Jesus", or "Happy Christ-day." But I
don't think you will have much success in escaping from the "Mas"! But
actually ...
7
In the Bible it was only
heathen
and
wicked kings
whose
birthdays
were celebrated. Y'shua the Messiah asked His people to remember
His
death,
not His birth.
(1 Corinthians 11:24-26)
8
25th December
was NOT the date of our Saviour's birth. The shepherds would never
be out watching sheep in the open fields in mid-Winter. There is
evidence to believe the Saviour was born during the Feast of Tabernacles
which falls in the seventh Biblical month, Tishri, (during
September/October).
9
25th December was a pagan Roman holiday which was celebrated as the
birthday
of the
sun-god.
When the Roman Empire was “converted” to Christianity, the pagan
holiday also got converted into the "birthday of Christ." I object to
celebrating the birth of
my
Saviour on a pagan/Roman MAS
day!
10
The Wise Men came to Bethlehem to
worship
the new born King, not to
celebrate
His birth. They presented gifts to Him, as was the custom when having an
audience with a King. At Christmas there is much celebration, but not
much worship. In the Christmas tradition people exchange gifts, but not
much is
given to the King of Glory.
Giving gifts is not wrong! But whose birthday is it supposed to be?
If Jesus is the "birthday baby", then why not give the gifts to Him?
SAINT
NICOLAS
11
Saint Nicolas
was a bishop
of
Myra (in
modern-day
Turkey),
in the 4th century. He was very popular and was
regarded as a special friend of children. He became the subject of many
legends, including the belief that he returns every year with gifts for
good children.
Wikipedia encyclopedia
describes “Father Christmas” as the metamorphosis of Saint Nicolas into
the commercially more interesting Santa.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas
When the Dutch went to America, they carried the traditions of
Saint Nicolas with them. They called him San Nicolas. This was changed
later to Sankt Claus, and ultimately to
Santa Claus.
To maintain the Santa myth, children are deceived by a
pack of lies.
Parents scold children all the year for telling lies, but they
themselves
deceive
their children at Christmas.
12
According to David Meyter, an ex-occultist and now a pastor in the USA,
there is a practice in occultism of scrambling the letters of s-a-t-a-n
to promote the devil. The word
"santa"
is a scrambled version of
Satan.
13
“Yule-tide”
is a common name for Christmas time. Websters
Dictionary says Yule was a heathen festival at the winter solstice. Yule
log was formerly used as the foundation for a ceremonial Christmas Eve
fire. Some still practise this fire.
I have just read an advertisement in a Christian publication in
which a Christian school wishes everyone a Merry Christmas, and invites
them to a
Yuletide bon fire. The ad says, "The Christmas Father will be there to meet you."
14
Santa Claus is the so-called
Father Christmas.
How come? If Christmas is Jesus' birthday,
how is it that His Father is not Father Christmas? To an outsider it
might even seem that Santa Claus was Jesus' father!
Tell me, why does that old, fat, jolly, red-clad chap always have a
pure white beard?
Because he masquerades and tries to impersonate Y'shua, the "Everlasting
Father," and the "Ancient of Days" –
(Revelation 1:14: "His head and His hair
were white like wool, like snow.")
15
The so-called
"Star of Bethlehem"
used at Christmas – mostly a five-pointed star - is an occult symbol,
called the
pentagram.
It is usually positioned on the top of the Christmas tree.
It is used in witchcraft, and when inverted,
it is the
"star of Satan."
The inverted star is often hung outside “Christian” homes.
Satan has so skilfully put his stamp on Christmas, even in Christian
homes and churches.
16
The Bible warns about decorating trees and statues with silver and
gold.
“Thus says
YHWH, Do not learn the way of the nations, and do not be terrified by
the signs of the heavens although the nations are terrified by them.
For the customs
of the peoples are delusion; because it is wood cut from the forest, the
work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. They decorate it
with silver and with gold. They fasten it with nails and with hammers,
so that it will not totter.”
(Jeremiah
10:2-4)
The
Christmas tree
had its origin right back at the tower of Babel. After the death of her
husband Nimrod, the high priestess, Semiramis, claimed a full-grown
evergreen tree sprang up overnight from a dead tree stump, which
symbolized the dead Nimrod springing forth into new life.
On each anniversary of his birth, she claimed, Nimrod would visit
the evergreen tree and leave gifts upon it.
Nimrod
became the sun-god whose birthday was 25th December.
17
Mistletoe,
a parasitic plant with white berries, is used widely at Christmas, and
it has sexual overtones. The oak tree on which the mistletoe grows, was
a phallic symbol; and kissing under the mistletoe is a thinly veiled
version of
pagan fertility
rites. The Bible commands:
"You shall not bring an abomination into your house. You shall utterly
detest it."
(Deuteronomy 7:26)
18
The
red
berries
and prickly green leaves of the
holly
bush, in pre-Christian times, were said to be
sacred to the sun-god.
And holly is one of the most prominent symbols of Christmas.
19
Christmas is always a commercial success story, and it should be
glaringly obvious to anyone who has eyes to see, that it has become very
much a part of
Commercial Babylon.
(Revelation 18)
20
Why should Christians have a big happy "birthday party" when half the
world has either never heard of the Saviour's birth, or do not know the
reason why He was born? There's very little real Gospel proclaimed in
Christmas services.
Most Christians spend more on
Christmas celebrations
than they do on the Gospel throughout the whole year. Millions of
dollars, euros, pounds, and rupees, are spent on cards to wish each
other "Merry Christ's Mas," which does little more than give a good
feeling to the privileged few.
How much better it would be to use the money you spend on Christmas
cards for Gospel literature, and give it to people who know little about
the Saviour!
21
The majority of Christmas greeting cards without employ
pagan
and
Satanic
symbols
- stars, candles, holly,
mistletoe, trees, and the impostor.
22
Many Christmas Carols are lovely, and have a lot of truth in them. But
it hard to purchase a cassette album of carols without a mixture of true
and false. "Come on, ring those bells; light the
Christmas tree," "Jingle bells," "Here comes Santa Claus,"
"Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer," "We wish you a Merry Christ-Mas."
The old idea of singing carols outside homes was to share the good
news that a Saviour was born to bring salvation to mankind. But today it
seems to be largely a gimmick
to
collect money
for this or that project, and or otherwise to have lots of fun and nice
things to eat.
23
Mary,
"the Mother of God,"
–
“the
Queen of Heaven"
is highly venerated in the Christmas
tradition.
Many will say, "But we don't worship the Queen of Heaven, and we
don't have Santa Claus or satanic stars, or mistletoe, or even candles
in OUR church. We simply worship God for sending His Son to be the
Saviour of the world."
I appreciate your simplicity and sincerity. But I ask, why do make
a big deal of that on
25th December?
It is not His birth day! It is
tradition!
24
Our Saviour is
no
longer a Baby.
We don't come to His crib today. We don't come to One who is
sitting on His mother's lap. We come to One who is ascended to the
Heavens, and who is exalted at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
And He is the One who is coming again soon.
It is a sad fact that while nearly ALL churches celebrate the
Saviour's BIRTH, and people get very excited about it, the majority of
them never get excited about the RETURN of the Saviour as King of Kings.
Pastors and priests are all so punctual in celebrating Christmas;
but they are "left behind" when it comes to the Rapture. Tradition,
rather than the Word of God, holds sway over the majority of churches.
People say, "But we
must
have
some
day to celebrate the birth of the Saviour! And the whole world
recognises 25th Dec!" What compels you? The Word of God? Or Tradition?
25 The Bible says, "See to it that no one
takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy according to
the
traditions of men,
rather than according to
Christ."
(Colossians 2:8)
26
The LORD, Yahweh El Shaddai, said to Israel:
"Beware that you are not ensnared into following them (the heathen
nations), after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not
inquire after their gods, saying: How do these nations serve their
gods? I will do likewise! You shall not behave (like them in
worshipping) YHWH your God ...
Be
careful to do whatever I command you; you shall not add to nor take away
from it."
(Deuteronomy 12:30-32)
And that is the important point - do what your
Master
has
commanded,
not what
you
feel like doing, and not what the world, or worldly-minded churches
promote!
Let's get back to the Bible,
and discover the truth anew! Let us examine our practices; let us
examine everything carefully, and hold to that which is true, to that
which is Scriptural. It's time for
revival!
It's time for
reformation!
It's time for the
Truth!
It is time for the Bride to
make herself ready!
The Bereans "... these were more noble-minded ... for they received the
word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see
whether things were so."
(Acts 17:11)
"And every one who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as
He is pure."
(1 John 3:3)
